By Noah Flack

9/1/17

 

AVONDALE- Brophy College Prep came to Westview High School to battle Friday night, and the two teams produced in a nail-biting thriller that ended with a gutsy, decisive two-point point conversion that gave Brophy a one-point lead with 25 seconds left in the game.

The Westview Knights ended up losing 28-27 to the Brophy Broncos.

“This is the shot in the arm we needed.” Brophy head coach Scooter Molander said.

Brophy came into the matchup 0-2, after struggling against dominant programs Pinnacle and Desert Ride (Mesa). Westview entered the matchup off of bye week after losing to Basha High School for the first time in their school’s history.

Westview began the night with a 25-yard rushing touchdown by senior running back David Romero to push Westview ahead 6-0, but Brophy responded early in the second quarter with a 25-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Noah Gonzalez to junior wide receiver Garrett Argetsinger to take the lead, 7-6.

Westview continued their dominant ground attack and retook the lead 13-7, in the following drive with a 21-yard touchdown run by senior running back Jalil Mitchell.

Brophy was unable to get back into the endzone for the rest of the first half, but managed to score a 40-yard field goal by junior kicker Jackson Garcia to bring the Broncos within three.

“We knew that we needed to be able to throw the ball, and we needed to continue to run the ball,” Molander said about his second half adjustments. “and our guys executed.”

Westview scored the first points of the second half to extend their lead by seven after a 35-yard pass from senior quarterback Scott Fallers to junior tight end Bocanegra Rafael.

“Whenever we needed our receivers to get a first down, they got it.” Fallers said.

Broncos kicker Garcia came out again at the end of the third quarter to drill a 42-yard field goal to make it 20-13 going in to the fourth quarter.

The Knights led off the offense-heavy fourth quarter with a two-yard scoring run by junior running back Albert Curry to extend their lead to 27-13, but Brophy marched down the field and was able to get themselves within a touchdown after a seven-yard scoring pass from Gonzales to senior wide receiver Donovan Arthur.

Westview took possession of the ball with six and half minutes remaining and were able to melt only three minutes off of the game clock, until they gave up a costly turnover on downs on Brophy’s 34-yard line.

Brophy was able to get down the field once again and enter the red zone with less than a minute remaining and scored on a late touchdown pass from Gonzales to senior tight end John Waters to shrink Westview’s lead to 27-26.

Coach Molander then went with the play of the night to give them the lead after a successful passing two-point conversion from Gonzales to senior fullback Erik Dimaria.

“I just felt like that was the time.. I felt like we had the opportunity to win the game right there and why not take it?” Molander said.

Westview had one more opportunity with just 25 seconds left in the game to get down the field for a chance to score.

“I was just trying to get the ball down the field.” Fallers said. “They [Brophy] were disciplined, and their d-line was tough.”

Brophy ended the game with a strip-sack by safety Marques White.  

“I’m really proud of our effort,” Westview head coach Nick Gehrts said. “But we will own it and get better.”

Westview looks to get their first win against Horizon High School in Scottsdale next Friday at 7 p.m.